Battery drain on People S 125.

[Abner_Bjorn]

Hello fellow Kymco riders.   I'm wondering if someone has information on a People S 125 battery drain.  I've seen this mentioned over the years (mainly on Craigslist posts of 125S's for sale).  Stator is doing the job fine of charging the batter, but once the scooter has sat unused for a week or so the battery is completely dead.  I've searched on the forum and google, and I've found nothing.   Can anyone help me out here?  Thank you in advance!

[Mr. Paul]

I dont know the particular problem with that scooter, but it sure sounds like you have a bad battery.

[Tromper]

My S 200 runs it's under-seat outlet through the ignition so no draw while it's off, I'd assume your S125 is the same, but could be an odd ignition fault so easy to check & something to look at.
Beyond that anything that's aftermarket is suspect, but most likely an old battery.
Get a trickle charger & leave it on that when sitting see if that gets it.  Those are worth having even if the battery is new if you don't the bike ride daily.
Even if it does "fix" it and the battery's old replace it at some point in the near future, or get real good at using your kick start.

[Mr. Paul]

Try disconnecting the battery from the scooter. If it is dead or near dead after a few days, you will know it is definitely not your scooter. You probably just need a new battery. Bad batteries will take a charge but they wont hold one.

[Abner_Bjorn]

Thank you for the replies.  It's not the battery.  Brand new fully charged battery measures 12.5 volts at idle and 13.6 when given gas.   Leave the scooter sit for a week off the tender, and the battery is dead.    There is a 125S on CL in Oregon right now.  Owner says it has a problem with battery drain, so he installed a master switch to disconnect the battery when not ridden.  Saw something similar here in Denver last year.  Owner stated battery drain on a 125S, so the tender must be hooked up at all times.   I thought this might be a common problem with this scooter. 

[Mr. Paul]

Just one more thing. I left my key in the in with the ignition on for a week on my People. Even though there are no lights on or anything, it totally drained the battery. I am sure you do not do the same, but had to put it out there. Best of luck on the battery issue.

[150scoots]

.   I thought this might be a common problem with this scooter.

It IS a common problem on the 125 & 200. I had purchased a 2007 s200 with very low miles in  2009 and ended up selling it because of. I contacted the dealer where the scooter was purchased to verify the scooter was indeed looked at as seller stated and the dealership said they did the recall and put in new parts for a discharging issue at that time, but apparently that did not fix the problem, so I ended up selling it.

[Iahawk]

when I bought my used S200 I was advised by the previous owner to be sure to plug in the battery tender on a regular basis as the scoot would drain its battery pretty quickly. Even with the new battery it has this year it continues to get plugged in on Sunday to make sure the battery stays charged.

[Iahawk]

was reading this old post and was surprised to see that I was the last one to reply 18 months ago!

My S200 continues to have battery drain issues. Nothing aftermarket on it and regularly gets plugged in to the tender.

Since I ride it so infrequently now I have just started disconnecting the neg battery cable between rides. Not the ideal solution but it's the best I've got for now.

It would be nice to get an answer as to why it does drain the battery when sitting..

[Stig / Major Tom]

IF disconnecting neg cable keeps your battery alive....how about installing a simple toggle switch  on a panel, in that neg line?
Reach down switch off, no more worries of dead battery?
Stig

[Iahawk]

..how about installing a simple toggle switch  on a panel, in that neg line?

Stig, I thought about this and looked for a switch but most that I saw were pretty big and bulky, like they were made to be mounted under the hood on a car battery.

I think the reality is this isn't a big enough deal to me to go to the effort of hooking something up. It takes me about 30 seconds to lift my battery panel and unhook the neg terminal. I guess laziness wins this one!

[Stig / Major Tom]

Well good fix.
As my cat's therapist says, "whatever works for you!"
Stig